Sometimes on the playground, I would be bossy, trying to shout out commands to my unruly minions playing hopscotch or kickball.

They ignored me.

My time to shine came in high school, when the apathy of others during group projects worked to my advantage. I could delegate responsibilities with the insistence of a commander, and we all benefitted from the big shiny grade.

Thankfully, I chose an occupation where I was in CHARGE! I wrote five books under Deanna Roy and nine serials under JJ Knight and enjoyed my autonomy.

But when it came time for Vigilante’s Lover, I knew I would need help. I’m good at sexytimes and creating a couple who discover — and often resist — that they may have found “The One.”

But spy gadgets? Prison breaks? Ahem…plot?

Not my strength.

The Vigilante’s Lover actually began on the way to Romantic Times Convention in New Orleans. Four of us drove from Austin to NOLA and brainstormed something I could pitch to an editor I was meeting there.

“We need an alpha!” I said. “But not a billionaire businessman or a vampire.”

We decided he DID need a lot of money. But he had to live a life of danger. I didn’t want to do a straight up spy. Or CIA or police or government agency.

So we came up with the Vigilantes. They were like the A-Team (can you tell I’m a child of the 80s?) but with a better wardrobe. Our guy would break out of jail and kidnap a woman he thinks has killed his partner. But he’s wrong.

I pitched this book to the editor and she wanted it immediately. I enlisted Tony West to help me with the plot-heavy sections. What I didn’t count on was that my JJ Knight pen name would go bonkers with my Fight for Her series and that all my deadlines would derail. I missed the window when I would send Vigilante to the publisher, and Tony and I realized the plot of this book was too complicated to write quickly.

So we hammered out all the details over six months and commenced the writing in the fall. As we went along, Jax and Mia’s personalities, backgrounds, and idiosyncrasies began to emerge.

In the end, Vigilante’s Lover is the most intricate story I’ve ever done. I’ve had a blast picking up Tony’s chapters and seeing the gadgets he’s created and the world building we’ve established. Wait until you see these guys’ CARS! (Theme song: Shut Up and Drive.)

I may have been a little bossy at times (Tony nods), but I’ve learned that sitting back and letting someone else show THEIR strengths in the process is better for the work as a whole. If only those playground kids could get a shot at grown-up Annie! Maybe I’d be a lot less dictatorial and a whole lot more fun.

_____

The Vigilante’s Lover by Annie Winters and Tony West arrived on January 13. It is the first of the romantic suspense series where a hard-line Vigilante spy gets tangled up with an innocent civilian who has a mysterious past.

Annie Winters and Tony West Bio:

Annie Winters is the new romantic suspense pen name for Deanna Roy/JJ Knight, the USA Today bestselling author of romances and serials. She teamed up with thriller writer Tony West for a new series that combines the best of romance and a heart-stopping action.